Branding machine



Feb. 22, 1938. w. P. BULLARD ET AL 2,109,330

BRANDING MACHINE Filed Sept. '7, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb, 22, 3938. w.P. BULLARD ET Al. 2,109,380

BRANDING MACHINE Filed Sept. 7, 1937 3 Sheets--Sheetl 5 Patented Feb.22, 1938 UNITED STTES BEAN DIN G MACHINE William P. Bullard and OswellL. Williams,

bany, Ga., assignors to National Pecan Growers Exchange, Albany, Ga., acorporation of Georgia Application September 7, 1937, Serial No. 162,786

9 Claims.

This invention relates to nut branding machines of the general typedisclosed in application Serial No. 117,232 filed December 22, 1936, byWilliam P. Bullard and Oswell L. Williams 5 now issued as Patent No.2,101,775, dated December '7, 1937, and more particularly thefinventionaims to provide an improvement in the marking mechanism for suchmachines.

An important feature of the invention is to l provide in a nut brandingmachine a self-adjustable rocker trough designed to compensate for lackof regularity in the shapes of the nuts as they are rolled over theprinting die by the feed Wheel. In its preferred form the trough isslotted upon its bottom and is yieldably sup-V ported above the printingdie so that when a nut of irregular contour, such as a nut having oneend larger than the other, is rolled along the trough, the trough willtilt about a longitudinal 20 axis as well as yield downwardly to allowthe nut to be evenly pressed into engagement with the printing die whichprojects into the open slot.

'Ihe invention has as another object to provide in a nut brandingmachine a rotary printing member carrying a plurality of printing diesadapted to be actuated to successively bring different dies intoprinting position beneath the rocker trough and an inking rolleroperatively connected to and driven by the rotary printing member. Inthe preferred construction of our invention a transfer spool isinterposed between the rotary printing member and the inking roller fortransferring ink from the inking roller to the printing dies.

Another object of our invention is to provide in a. nut branding machineof the above character one or more cleaning cylinders positively drivenfrom the rotary printing member to wipe vthe superuous film of ink fromthe printing dies between their successive printing operations.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fountain type ofinking roller which is of relatively simple ancl improved constructionfor preventing slippage of the inking pad which is wound thereon and forinsuring an elicient feed of the ink to the pad; This inking roller isadapted to be readily removed from the machine and nested within a cupto seal the same against the atmosphere or for convenience in shipping.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdetailed description of a preferred form of the invention, referencebeing had to the annexed drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a nut (Cl. lOl- 37) brandingmachine embodying the improvements of the invention;

Figure 2 is a transverse cross-sectionalview of the machine of Fig. 1taken on the line 2 2 of that figure;

Figure 3 is an enlarged partly cross-sectional view of the markingmechanism including the rocker trough for guiding the nuts over theprinting die;

Figure 4 is a plan View of the rocker trough and marking mechanism;

Figure 5 is an endwise view of the marking mechanism shown in Fig. 3 andillustrating its relation to the rocker trough, likewise shown in endview;

Figure 6 is a longitudinal cross-sectional View through the inkingroller;

Figure 7 is an exaggerated detail View of one of the punchedperforations upon the inkingi'oller for feeding ink to the pad wrappedupon its circumference; and

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of a protective cup telescoped overthe inking roller after the latter has been removed from the machine.

Referring to Fig. 1, the nut branding machine, generally stated,comprises an open framework l supporting in elevated position a hopper 2for receiving nuts in bulk, from which they are discharged into adownwardly-inclined, reciprocable conveyor chute 3. The upper end of theconveyor chute extends into the bottom of the hopper and the nutsdischarge from the hopper into the conveyor through an openingcontrolled by a vertically slidable,.gravity-operated gatef4 mountedupon anti-friction bearings in a guideway 5. Y

The lower end of vthe chutey is slidably supported in a box-like housing6, and also mounted f within. this housing adjacent the lower end of thechute is an adjustable throat 'l (Fig. 3) for receiving the nutsindividually from the chute. A stop plate 8 supported upon a yieldablerubber pad Sa closes an end of the throat 'l and serves as a stop forthe nuts moving down the conveyor into the throat. The stop plate isslidably disposed between the two interned flanges 9a of a pair of angleirons 9 supported by and extending upwardly from a cross plate IBarranged crosswise of the machine frame. The rubber pad which isadhesively secured to the bottom of the u I2 fastened to the outer facesof these flanges, the arrangement being such that the stop plateprojects a short distance above the plates Il and I2. y

Vertically slidable within the throat is an elevating bar I3 having itsupper end formed with a concaved bevel I3a approximating the roundedouter surface of a nut and having its lower end engaging the peripheryof a spiral cam disk I4. The cam disk is keyed upon a shaft 28 rotatablein the machine frame. This elevating bar is gradually raised by therotating cam disk with a slight jarring action by reason of the notchesI4a upon the periphery of the cam disk so as to properly position thenut in the adjustablethroat, after which the elevating bar is quicklylowered as the drop portion I4b of the cam rides under its lower end.

When a nut is projected upwardly by the elevating bar, a continuouslyrotated feed wheel I5 having a tread Ia of sponge rubber resilientlyengages the nut (several of which are indicated Y in dotted lines inFig. 3) and rolls it across the printing die Ilia, of a rotary printingmember IS.

The mechanism for actuating the marking mechanism, as best indicated inFigs. 4 and 5, comprises a continuous shaft I1 supported in suitablebearings I1a in a direction transversely of the machine frame. Mountedupon this shaft adjacent its midportion are two opposed bevel gears I8and I9, the bevel gear I8 being keyed to the shaft while bevel gear i9is loosely rotatable thereon. The bevel gear I8 is interrupted byuntoothed blank spaces I8a at quarter intervals while the bevel gear I9is full toothed. The rotary printing member I is of cylindrical form andis circumferentially provided with four equidistantly spaced printingdies Ilia each composed of a block of resilient rubber bearing upon itsouter printing face the indicia to be applied to the nuts. The rotarymember revolves upon a shaft 20 extending horizontally outward from theplate I2 which is fastened to the pair of upright angle irons 9.

Upon the outwardly disposed end face of the rotary member I6 is affixeda bevel gear 2l meshing with both of the bevel gears I8 and I9 on shaftI1. Bevel gear 2I has its teeth filed down at intervals as indicated at2| a corresponding to the blanks Illa on bevel gear I8 so that when ablank upon the latter gear rides into a complementary stripped area 2Iaupon bevel gear 2l, the gears will be momentarily locked. Duringthismomentary period of dwell, a nut will be rolled by the feed wheel I5over the printing die Y IBa which at the time happens to be located inprinting position. Freely rotatable bevel gear I9 serves simply as aninertia member to hold gear 2| against play.

Located upon opposite sides of the rotary printing member are brackets22 and 23. These brackets are secured by screws 22a and 23a to the crossplate I0 so that by unloosening the screws the brackets may be swungdownwardly and away from theY rotary printing Ymember. Extendinghorizontally outward adjacent the upper end cf the bracket 22 is a pin24 upon which is rotatably mounted a preliminary cleaning cylinder 25having a circumferential pad 25a of absorbent material, such asV felt,wrapped thereon. This preliminary cleaning cylinder bears upon and isadapted to wipe the adhering coating of ink from theprinting dies justafter they have moved from printing position.V Y Similarly a pin 26 isfastened to and projects from the upper end of bracket 23 and upon thispin is rotatably supported a final cleaning cylinder 21 provided with acircumferential pad 21a of absorbent material which bears upon theprinting dies just before they are advanced to printing position. Thefunction of this final cleaning cylinder is to distribute the ink whichhas previously been applied to the dies in a thin film upon the dies. Bythus removing the residual ink from the dies just after the printingstep and in wiping away any excess of newly supplied ink from thesurfaces of the dies just prior to printing, uniform and distinctimpressions upon the individual nuts are obtained free from the blurringand smearing effect which results from accumulations of ink upon theprintthe inking roller and the rotary printing memberis a transfer spool33 having a circumference of v polished metal adapted to bear againstthe inking roller and against the dies Iia as the latter areperiodically advanced toward printing position. The transfer spool issimilarly supported for rotation upon a pin 34 extending outwardly froman arm 35 which latter is fastened at one end to the cross plate IB bythe same screw 22m which fastens the bracket 22 to the cross plate. Byloosening the screws 32o. and 22a, the arms may be swung down to permitconvenient removal of the inking roller and transfer spool lengthwisefrom their pins 3| and 34 upon which they are retained respectively bynuts 3 la and 34a.

In order to obtain a positive drive of the cleaning cylinders, theinking roller and the transfer spool so that they will better performtheir functions, the rotary printing member I5 is provided with a p'mion36 secured to its end face which is disposed adjacent the plate l2. Thispinion meshes with a pinion 31 fixed upon the end face of preliminarycleaning roller 25 and also with'a pinion 38 secured to the end face offinal cleaning roller 21. Similarly the transfer spool 33 is providedupon its inwardly disposed end face with a pinion 39 meshing with thepinion 36 on the rotary printing member and also with apinion 46fastened upon the end face of the printing roller 3Q. member the twocleaning rollers, the transfer spool and the printing roller are allstepped simultaneously a fraction of a revolution to bring differentportions of their circumferences into operative position. Y

The machine is driven by an electric motor M` located upon the machineframe below the pinion 4l meshing with a large spur gear 42. The largespur gear 42 is keyed to a shaft 43 disposed crosswise of and suitablyjournaled within the frame and upon one end of this shaft is mounted asprocket 44 having a driving chain 45 which leads around a largercompanion sprocket 46 fixed upon shaft'28. Shaft 28 is rotatably mountedin the machine frame parallel to shaft 43 and is provided upon its endswith sprockets 41 and 4B. A transmission chain 49 extends betweensprocket 41 and a companion sprocket 59 mounted upon the end of theshaft I1 for driving `the latter shaft carrying the bevel gears I8 andI9. A shaft 5I is supported for The arm 32 is fastened at its end toThus during rotation of the rotary printingv rotation in a pair of.standards 52 extending upwardly from opposite sides of the frame, and achain 53 extends between sprocket 48 on shaft 28 and a companionsprocket 54 fixed to an end of shaft 5I for driving the latter shaft.Feed wheel I5 is keyed to a stub shaft 55 rotatably supported upon theend of an arm 56, the opposite end of which arm loosely embraces theshaft 5I. The feed wheel is thus oatingly supported so as to press thenuts ejected from the throat 'I' into engagement with the printing diesIa of. the rotary printing member I 6. The feed wheel is positivelydriven in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. l by atransmission chain 5l extending between sprockets 58 and 59 on shafts 5Iand 55 respectively. A roller 6G carried upon the end of a, pivotallyadjustable bracket 6I fastened to arm 56 bears upon the chain and takesup slack.

Reciprocating motion is imparted to the conveyor chute 3 by means of thelinkage (see Fig. l) comprising a lever 63 pivotally connected at oneend to the bottom of the chute and at its other end to one arm of a bellcrank 64, and a second link 55 extending from the other arm of the bellcrank to a box-shaped frame 66. The box frame has a lip 6'! designed toride upon the periphery of the spiral cam disk I4. This box frame isfastened to one end of. a rocker arm 68 which at its other end 68aloosely encircles the shaft 43 without partaking of the motion of thatshaft.

As will be apparent, the box frame 66 will be gradually raised by thespiral cam disk I4 to move the feed chute 3 downwardly with a vibratorymotion, because of the notches I4a upon the periphery of the cam, butwhen the cut-away drop portion I4b of the cam arrives below the lip 61the box frame will drop, quickly shifting the feed chute upwardly. Thusthe nuts will be fed from the hopper 2 to the marking mechanism with acombined vibratory and reciprocatory motion. In a similar manner theelevating bar I3, the lower end of which rides upon the periphery of thecam I4, will gradually raise a nut from the throat 'I with a jarringmotion into engagement with the resilient tread I5a of the feed wheell5. The feed wheel will then roll the nut across the face of a printingdie la so as to cause the nut to receive a printed impression from thedie. When the drop prtion I4b of the cam disk I4 rotates into a positionbelow the lower end of the elevating bar, the latter will fall,retracting its upper end into the bottom of the throat l ready toreceive another nut from the feed chute.

In order to maintain the nuts against lateral displacement and to allownuts of different shapes to be uniformly pressed into engagement withthe printing die as they are rolled thereover by the feed wheel I5, arocker trough 'Hl is provided as more clearly shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5.

This rocker trough comprises a cradle 'II of concave trough formfastened at its forward or nutreceiving end by means of a pivot pin 'I2threaded into the upper end of the depressible stop plate 3 andextending loosely through an opening in an ear 'i3 bent down from theend of the cradle. The rear or nut-discharging end of the cradle isyieldably supported upon a coil spring 'i4 surrounding a pin 'I5extending vertically downward from the cradle into a slightly oversizesocket 'I6 formed in a post TI supported upon the shaft il. The bottomof the cradle intermediate its length is provided with a slot 'i8extending lengthwise thereof and this slot is disposed in registry withand slightly above a printing die I6a located in printing position. Thecradle is thus resiliently supported at one end by the coil spring 'I4and at its other end by the stop plate 8 which is supported upon theyieldable rubber pad 8a. Likewise the cradle is free to rock a limiteddistance about a, longitudinal axis by reason of the pivotal mounting ofthe forward end of the cradle upon the pivot pin 'l2 and because of theloose reception of the pin l within its socket 16.

In the operation of the machine just described, when a nut, such forexample as a pecan, is rolled along the rocker trough by the feed wheeli5 the cradle is adapted to yield vertically so as to allow the nut tobe forced into engagement with the printing die I6a which is exposedthrough the slightly oversize slot 'I8 in the cradle. If the nut ismisshapen, as for example if one of its ends is larger than the other,then the cradle will tilt about a longitudinal axis to compensate forthe lack of uniformity of the nut and the face of the printing die Itawill bear quite evenly upon the circumference of the nut. f

It will be appreciated that only in rare cases will a nut correspond inshape to the cross-sectional contour of the cradle and that ordinarilythe ends only of the nut will bear against the concave sides of thecradle. In any event the pressure exerted by the feed wheel I5 upon thenuts will be resisted by the cradle and, especially in the case of thelarger sizes of nuts, the rubber printing dies will not be subjected toexcessive pressures which tend to shorten the useful life of the dies aswell as to c-ause blurredimpressions to be imparted to the nuts. At thesame time the printing dies being composed of rubber are capab-le offlexing to conform to differences and irregularities in the shapes ofthe nuts as such nuts are pressed into engagement with their printingsurfaces. It will also be apparent that since the nuts are rolled acrossthe printing dies, the latter may, if desired, be elongated in thedirection of travel of the nuts so as to apply an impression throughouta very large part of the circumference of the shell. 'Ihis is a distinctadvantage over those types of nut branding machines in which the nutmust be momentarily brought to rest while receiving the impression,under which conditions the impression can be applied only to acircumscribed area ofthe shell.

As has previously been explained, shaft I'I is rotated by means of chain49 which winds over the sprocket 50 upon an end of this shaft. Bevelgear I8 located upon this shaft adjacent its midportion engages theinterrupted bevel gear 2| of the rotary printing memberA I 6 andimp-arts intermittent motion thereto. During the period that the blanks'18a upon the gear I8 engage the complementary stripped areas 2m upon thegear 2|, there will be a period of dwell during which time the rotaryprinting member Iii will be held stationary by the interlocked gears.The elevating bar i3 will then rise to press a nut into engagement withthe feed wheel I 5 which rolls the nut over the appropriately positionedprinting die Ia. The other' three printing dies |6121,` of the rotaryprinting member will at such time be disposed, as illustrated in Fig. 5,with their printing faces in Contact with the two cleaning cylinders 25and 2l and the transfer spool 33, it being understood that the directionof rotation of the rotary printing member will be as indicated fibrousmaterial, may, if desired, be composed of superimposed layers of spongerubber, felt and blotting paper. By reason of the geared correction ofthe cleaning cylinders, transfer spool and inking roller to the rotaryprinting member, during each quarter of a turn of the rotary printingmember the preliminary cleaning cylinder 25 will Wipe the adheringcoating of ink from the printing die which is moved away from printingposition, the transfer spool 33 will apply a fresh coating of ink toanother of the printing dies While a new supply of ink is being addedtothe polished metal face of the spool by the inking roller 3U,

p and the nal cleaning cylinder 21 will remove the superfluous coatingof ink from the freshly inked printing die which is about to move intoprinting position.

The inking roller 30, as best illustrated in the cross-sectional View ofFig. 6, comprises a pair of spaced disks and 8| integrally connected bya tubular sleeve 82 adapted to slidingly receive the pin 3! upon whichthis roller rotates. The disks 80 and 8l upon their opposed faces aremarginally reduced to provide annular hubs 89a and 81a and telescopingover and extending between these hubs is a sheet metal drum 83 havingits ends soldered or welded to the hubs and g .of the drum which servesas an ink reservoir.

The perforations 83a are initially punched in a flat metal sheet whichis afterwards rolled into tubular shape around the hubs. These punchingsare so produced as to form burrs upon the circumference of the drum. Asbest shown in the exaggerated detail view of Fig. 7, the punchingsdefine outwardly constricted tapered openings 83b extending from theinterior of the drum to its exterior which promote the ow of the inkfrom the interior to the exterior of the drum. As will also be observed,these perforations are punched at an angle in order to dispose the burrsupon the drum in the direction of rotation of the inking roller. Uponthe circumference of the drum 83 is Wrapped an inking pad 30a forapplying a lm of ink to the surface of the transfer spool. This padcomprises a layer, or a plurality of layers, of felt which absorbs theink passing out of the drum through the perforations. The burrssurrounding the perforation, when thepfelt is wrapped upon the drum,will penetrate the material and retain it from slipping. Furthermore,due to the forward inclination of the burrs, rubbing of the pad againstthe transfer spool will tend to cause the burrs to biteV deeper into thepad and prevent slipping of the felt upon the drum.

In order to protect the felt pad from exposure to the atmosphere andalso to afford a convenient shipping container for the inking roller, acup 86 (Fig. 8) is provided. The disk 8i of the printing roller is ofslightly larger diameter than the disk 80 and is circumferentiallyscrew-threaded as indicated at 86a. The cup 86 is interiorlyscrew-threaded as at 81 adjacent its open end and is provided upon itsinterior with cushion 88 at its closed end, the arrangement being suchthat the cup is adapd to telescope over the inking roller and to screwonto the threaded circumference of the disk 8l in the manner shown inthis gure. Thus the inking roller may be effectively sealed against dustand dirt and the ink retarded from drying out or from hardening orcaking.

While the nut branding machine just described is especially suitable forthe marking of pecans or similar types of nuts of generally ovalcontour, it is also capable of employment with nuts of generallyspherical shape, such as walnuts, or with fruit, such as oranges, whichis adapted to be rolled upon its circumference. It will be apparent thatvarious other changes in construction, arrangement and design in the nutbranding mechanism described above, representing a preferred embodimentof the invention, m-ay be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

What is claimed is:

l. In a nut branding machine, a printing die, a resilient feed wheellocated above the printing die and in spaced relation thereto, means forintroducing nuts into the space between the feed Wheel and the printingdie, and a rocker trough disposed intermediate the feed wheel and theprinting die for guiding the nuts as they are rolled across the printingdie by the feed wheel,

said rocker trough comprising a trough-shaped cradle having an openingin its bottom immediately above the printing die and means yieldinglysupporting the cradle above the printing die but permitting depressionof the cradle to allow the nuts to be pressed into engagement with theprinting die.

2. In a nut branding maclnne, a printing die, a resilient feed wheellocated above the printing die and in spaced relation thereto, means forintroducing nuts into the space between the feed wheel and the printingdie, and a rocker trough disposed intermediate the feed wheel and theprinting die for guiding the nuts as they are rolled across the printingdie by the feed wheel,Y

Said rocker trough comprising al concave troughshaped cradle having anopening in its bottom immediately above the printing die and meansyieldingly supporting the cradle above the printing die but permittingthe depression and tilting of the cradle upon a longitudinal axis toallow nuts of various shapes to be evenly pressed into engagement withthe printing die.

3. In a nut branding machine, a printing die, a resilient feed wheellocated above the printing die and in spaced relation thereto, means forintroducing nuts into the space between the feed wheel and the printingdie, and a rocker trough disposed intermediate the feed wheel and theprinting die for guiding the nuts as they are rolled across the printingdie by the feed wheel, said rocker trough comprising a trough-shapedcradle having an opening in its bottom located immediately above theprinting die, a yieldable plate supporting the forward end of the cradleand a spring yieldingly supporting the rear end of the cradle to permitdepression of the cradle to allow the nuts to be pressed into engagementwith the printing die.

4. In a nut branding machine, a printing die, a resilient feed wheellocated above the printing die and in spaced relation thereto, means forintroducing nuts into the space between the feed wheel and the printingdie, and a rocker trough disposed intermediate the feed Wheel and theprinting die for guiding the nuts as they are pivoting said cradle tothe yieldable plate to permit tilting of the cradle about a longitudinalaXis, an upright post located at the rear end of the cradle, a pin uponthe cradle extending into rear end of the cradle but permitting thedepression and tilting of the cradle about a longitudinal axis.

5. In a nut branding machine, a rotary printing member, a plurality ofprinting dies arranged in angularly spaced relation about the rotaryprinting member, a resilient feed wheel-located above the rotaryprinting member, an elevating bar for periodically introducing nuts intothe space between the feed wheel and one of the printing dies, and arocker trough disposed intermediate the feed Wheel and the printing diefor they are rolled across the printing die by the feed wheel, saidrocker trough comprising a trough-shaped cradle having an opening in itsbottom located immediately above the printing die, means reslientlysupporting the cradle but permitting the cradle to be depressed andtilted about a longitudinal axis to allow nuts of various shapes to beevenly pressed into engagement with the printing die, and means foroperating the elevating bar and the rotary printing member in timedrelationship.

6. In a nut branding machine, an inking roller comprising a rotarycylindrical drum having upstanding projections upon its circumferenceand provided with perforations communicating with the interior of thedrum, an opening for introducing ink into the interior of the drum and apad of absorbent material wound upon the drum and held against slippingby the projections.

7. In a nut branding machine, an inkingroller comprising a rotarycylindrical drum having upstanding projections upon its circumferenceprovided with perforations communicating with the Vjacent interior ofthe drum, an opening for introducing ink into the interior of the drumand a pad of absorbent material wound upon the drum and held againstslipping by the projections, said projections being inclined withreference to the radius of the drum.

8. In a nut branding machine, an inking roller comprising a pair ofspaced disks providing hub sections upon their opposed faces, a sheetmetal drum fastened to and extending between the hub sections, said drumhaving perforations punched therein so as to form upstanding burrs uponthe circumference of the drum surrounding the perforations, an openingin one of said disks for the introduction of ink into the interior ofthe drum and an absorbent pad encircling the drum so as to frictionallyengage the face of the transfer spool and held against slipping by theburrs.

9. In a nut branding machine, a rotary printing member, a plurality ofprinting dies arranged in angularly spaced relation about the rotaryprinting member, means for intermittently rotating the rotary printingmember, means for"- rolling nuts across one of the printing dies, apreliminary cleaning cylinder and a final cleaning cylinder arrangedupon opposite sides of the rotary printing member and adaptedrespectively to engage the printing dies immediately after andimmediately before said dies have moved from and to printing position,an inking roller located between the cleaning cylinders and adthe rotaryprinting member, a transfer spool arranged intermediate the inkingroller and the rotary printing member adapted to transfer ink from theinking roller to WILLIAMy P. BULLARD. osWELL L. WILLIAMS.

